IMVO Covenant Forestry

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch timber sector are the initiators of the Agreement on International Responsible Business Conduct (IRBC) for Promoting Sustainable Forestry in the Netherlands.

The challenge

Stimulating the demand for sustainable timber in the Netherlands gives a big impulse to sustainable forestry services worldwide. This is important for tackling climate change and it is a valuable attribution to the Sustainable Development Goals. This agreement aims to jointly stimulate sustainable forest management and to further strengthen international responsible business conduct throughout the entire timber chain.

Our approach

We guided the realization of this IRBC agreement from beginning to the end. We facilitated the multi-stakeholder coalition and supported target-setting on sustainable forestry and use of sustainable timber. The coalition consisted of government parties, the Dutch timber sector, labour unions and NGO’s. In addition, we have drawn-up the text of the agreement. 

The impact

Twenty-three parties signed the agreement, and commit to the ambition to further increase the share of sustainable timber on the Dutch market towards 2020. Specific goals and actions are defined to stimulate the demand for sustainable timber in the Netherlands, and will be monitored on an annual basis. By doing so an impulse is given to sustainable forest management worldwide.

Take a look at the online version of the IMVO Covenant on Promoting Sustainable Forestry (Dutch)